Greg & Laura Arends

Thirteen years with Menards gave Greg Arends an in-depth knowledge of all aspects of retail management. He rose through the ranks from Trainee to General/Store Manager where he was responsible for managing all of the functions to open and operate five stores with revenues between $19-35 million.

Although he liked the variety his job offered – he didn’t care for the stress or hours of retail life. His long days prevented him from getting to spend much quality time with family so he felt like he was missing out on seeing his two daughters grow up.

By the time Greg was laid off, he and his wife, Laura were ready for him to leave retail life behind. They wanted to control their destiny and avoid the insecurity of Greg losing his job again. There were some concerns about self-employment, however.

“We were worried about financing a business and being able to meet our monthly expenses while ramping up. The E-Source taught us about various funding sources and ultimately, found us a franchise that actually offered financing to help us get started.”

The Arends had moved many times over the years to open new stores, which fueled their desire to settle down and enjoy longevity in one location. They were ready to move back to the Brainerd Lakes area where Laura grew up and one day build a log home on the land they own there. Laura was interested in being involved in the business - whatever it took to allow them to both spend more time with their active daughters, Emalee and Nicole.

“Throughout this process you were there as a counselor, ally and a supporter as we narrowed our choices to two and ultimately the one franchise that we selected as the best fit for our skills, temperament, and personal and financial objectives."

The Arends found an ideal business model with SERVPRO, a residential and commercial cleaning, deodorization and restoration service for premises and contents damaged by fire, water and other causes. They also offer mold mitigation – a hot button for many folks these days.

"After researching the business model and recognizing how well SERVPRO fit our goals and objectives, we realized that we'd be crazy not to do this."

Due to the nature of the business, there is an enormous amount of variety. Greg spends his days on anywhere from 3 to 7 projects. And when he gets booked up, Laura leaves the office work behind and handles the overflow jobs. They use temporary help or sub-contract work to get jobs done in a timely, professional manner which sometimes comes from family members when they’re available.

This September will mark the Arends’ 2-year anniversary with SERVPRO of Brainerd and Park Rapids and they are pleased that their goals have been realized with this business. Greg is averaging 30-hour weeks; they have each coached their daughter’s sports teams and are gearing up to build that log home next year.

So if you own a property in the Brainerd Lakes or Park Rapids areas and the sump pump quits, the basement floods or the bonfire gets too close to the house – be sure to call Greg & Laura's SERVPRO van to your rescue!